Engaging the Culture. Impacting our Future.

Cathi is President of Center for Arizona Policy. As a mom, lawyer and lifelong political junkie, Cathi's passion for the foundational values of life, marriage and family, and religious liberty stem from seeing how the culture impacts families, and how much public policy influences the culture.

Recently, the Arizona Department of Health Services released its annual abortion report showing that 501 fewer abortions were performed in Arizona in 2014 as compared to 2013, a decrease of 3.7%! Since the new abortion reporting requirements took effect in late 2010, Arizona has seen a drop in the abortion rate by 10.4% or 1,500 fewer abortions in 2014 compared to 2011.

Why the Numbers Have Decreased

In 2008, Arizonans holding pro-life views registered to vote in record numbers. Those values voters then voted into office pro-life legislators and in 2009 pro-life Secretary of State Jan Brewer became Governor. Between 2009 and 2014, Gov. Brewer signed into law 24 life-saving measures directly leading to the reduction in the abortion rate. When concerned citizens vote their life values, those votes lead to saved lives – both of preborn children and their mothers.

Our state, along with the rest of the country, increasingly is pro-life. Everyone knows a woman who was hurt by an abortion. Most have seen an ultrasound picture of a preborn child as early as 8-10 weeks. Ultrasound pictures clearly show the preborn child is just that – a preborn baby. One can no longer deny the truth about the humanity of the preborn child or that abortion hurts women.

What the Numbers Tell Us:

Elective, Not Therapeutic. Almost 99% of the abortions in 2014 were elective, meaning they were not performed because the life or health of the woman was endangered.

Abortion Hurts Women. 137 women experienced complications resulting from an abortion in 2014, an increase of 35 from the 2013 report.

Age matters. Women in their 20’s accounted for 59% of all abortions performed, with almost 33% of the abortions being performed on women ages 20-24.

Surgical Abortion is the Preferred Method. Surgical abortions accounted for 72% and medication abortions 28% of all abortions. About 29% of the surgical abortions were done by the D&E method which requires the abortionist to tear apart the baby limb by limb.

Late Term Abortions. 132 abortions were performed on babies after 20 weeks, near the point of viability meaning the preborn might survive outside the womb. Women having abortions after 20 weeks had a higher complication rate than women having abortions before 20 weeks.

Repeat Abortions. Thirty-six percent of women report having had one or more prior abortions.

March is a Key Month. In every year since 2011, the highest number of abortions occur in the month of March.

Parental Consent. Of the 61 petitions filed for a minor to have an abortion without parental consent, 45 were granted.

How Do We Respond to the Numbers – What’s Next:

Our CAP Policy Team will continue to analyze these numbers to see what they tell us about how to best protect preborn children and their mothers from the dangerous and deadly practices of the abortion industry.

At a minimum, we know that pro-life efforts should focus as follows:

Focus first on women in their 20’s as the age group most likely to choose an abortion.

Increase efforts to reach abortion-minded women in the month of March when the highest number of abortions are performed.

Highlight the harms to women having abortions post 20 weeks.

Emphasize over and over again that women are having abortions for elective reasons, not for life or health reasons. Yet abortion not only takes the life of their preborn child but hurts women in multiple ways.

Increase support for pregnancy resource centers to meet the needs of abortion-minded women, especially those having repeat abortions.

“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13 NASB

As CAP Communications Director Aaron Baer shared recently, when I have faced a trial or been overwhelmed with a disappointment or defeat, I have gone to this verse.

Today, we have suffered a major defeat. U.S. District Judge John Sedwick has ruled that the Arizona constitutional marriage amendment passed by the voters overwhelmingly in 2008 is unconstitutional. Recently the U.S. Supreme Court declined to address the marriage issue. This means that a handful of lower court judges have been able to redefine marriage – in essence, a de facto Roe v. Wade ruling on marriage not unlike the 1973 decision to legalize abortion.

The courts have decreed that self-governance by the people does not matter. The courts have abused their authority to overturn one of the key foundational principles of our nation – that marriage is only the union of one man and one woman. Two men or two women will now be able to be legally married in our state of Arizona and in 30 states plus Washington D.C.

Yet God’s Word has not changed. God still ordains marriage to only be the union of one man and one woman. Social science data has not changed, as it overwhelmingly continues to show that marriage between one man and one woman remains the best family arrangement for men, women, and children. The most recent national poll by Pew Research Center even shows support for marriage redefinition at less than 50%.

No court can redefine marriage. The truth remains that marriage has always been and will continue to be only the union of one man and one woman.

There are those today that try to paint us as being on the wrong side of history. To that, I quote my colleague John Stemberger, President and General Counsel of the Florida Family Policy Council:

“The little boy in the inner city who longs to have a father that longing will never be on the wrong side of history. The little girl who desires to have a mom because she only has two dads and two men in her life as she’s trying to go through life to figure out the changes in her body as a woman that little girl’s desire to have a mom will never be on the wrong side of history. The beauty of how a man and a woman come together and life springs forth and the next generation is born that will never be on the wrong side of history because it’s built into the human experience. Whether it’s today or 30 years from now eventually society is going to have to come back to the importance and the centrality of this human institution in order to maintain basic social order. ”

Today, we grieve. We grieve for the children who now have no chance of growing up with a mom and a dad. We mourn the loss of a culture and its moral foundation. We mourn a culture that continues to turn its back on God and His principles.

But we do not despair. We do not throw in the towel. We do not give up.

Tomorrow, we rise again to fight the battle. In 1973, many thought the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision legalizing abortion would end the debate on abortion. Yet look what has happened over forty years later. Polls repeatedly show a majority of Americans holding pro-life views. States have passed over 200 pro-life measures in recent years. There is a general acknowledgement that abortion not only ends a preborn child’s life but also hurts women and men. As a result of pro-life efforts these last 40 years, the abortion rate has declined. Babies and their mothers are being saved – not nearly enough but we are on a path to see an end to abortion in our lifetimes.

Join Center for Arizona Policy as we redouble our efforts to rebuild a culture of marriage, to restore marriage to its original meaning and purpose as the best family structure for men, women, and children. And, yes, our top priority will be to ensure that no one’s religious liberty is threatened or denied because of their faith-based views regarding marriage.

Pray for revival in our country. Pray that 2 Chronicles 7:14 would be a reality and that we would turn from our wicked ways, humble ourselves, and God would heal our land. May God have mercy on us.

Plan now to join us on Sunday, November 2, 3:00-5:00 p.m., at the Arizona State Capitol for a time of praise, worship, and prayer for our state and nation.

Make your voice heard. The November 4 election is 18 days away. Early balloting began in Arizona over one week ago. Take time to visit azvoterguide.com. Learn about the candidates that share your values. Then cast an informed vote. Don’t be confused or misled by the television ads, the mailers, or the phone calls. Get the facts at azvoterguide.com. Pray about which candidates to vote for and then let your voice be heard. Don’t sit out this election!

Come join the Arizona pro-life movement for the kickoff of the 40 Days for Life campaign! In Phoenix, Glendale, Tempe, and Chandler friends will be gathering outside abortion clinics to pray for women, preborn children, and for the end of abortion.

It is appalling that Planned Parenthood is taking advantage of vulnerable women in Arizona and around the country – purely to turn a profit. Women with crisis pregnancies need loving and caring people to come around them in support during their time of need. In anew video, Students for Life exposes the tactics of the largest abortion business in Arizona and the United States.